Setting up a sovereign free territory has long been a dream of libertarian mavericks, from the ill-fated Republic of Minerva to the nascent Free Republic of Liberland. Yet arguably none has achieved the longevity of the Principality of Sealand. A major reason for that longevity—and accompanying notoriety—is the fact that Sealand, while perhaps whimsical in its origin, wasn’t merely a utopian experiment. Rather, it had a very practical purpose.
Set up atop an abandoned World War II British antiaircraft platform off the English coast (installations known as “Roughs”) by retired British Army Major Paddy Roy Bates, Sealand contributed to a revolution in broadcasting in the UK.
In an excerpt from his upcoming book, The Outlaw Ocean, published in The Atlantic, journalist Ian Urbina provides a brief account of Sealand’s history and places it within the context…
